


Triangles are My Favorite Shape

by TwoCatsTailoring



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Multi, OT3, Slice of Life, understated romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-22
Updated: 2017-07-22
Packaged: 2018-12-05 13:15:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 3,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11578827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwoCatsTailoring/pseuds/TwoCatsTailoring
Summary: Given enough time, they can all find a new balance.





	1. This Is How I Show My Love

Rude leaned slightly to the left, shifting the bag of groceries on his hip to cup a hand around the cigarette he had tried three times already to light. June was windy in Edge, it seemed.

“That’s a nasty habit,” Tifa hitched the straps of her shopping bag back up on her shoulder and surveyed her companion out of the corner of her eye. Seeing him in broad daylight was different. It was one thing for him to be sitting at the bar at half past eleven but another one entirely for him to be walking her home at a quarter to noon. She wasn’t all that sure what to make of it.

“It is.” The agreement was there on the exhale of a cloud of blue-gray smoke from the side of his mouth opposite her. What could he say?

“Then why don’t you stop?” She tilted her head slightly to look at him, eyes narrowed just a little. “I’m guessing you’ve known you should for a while.”

Rude just shrugged, took another leisurely drag, and exhaled. “No reason to.”

She didn’t have anything to say to that. What was this weird thing they were doing anyway? For weeks now he’d been showing up at her usual places, usually not even talking to her unless she said something first. Even then he didn’t have much to say, just like now.

“Are you guys back to following me around?”

“No.” And it was true. They weren’t. And if she’d asked properly if _he_ was the answer would still be a no because that wasn’t what he was doing at all. That was far too sinister a way to put what he was doing. Which was simply trying to look at her as much as he could.

“Really? Because you were lurking by the cherries today and I know you hate them.”

“I….” Well, she wasn’t wrong. She was also smiling that tiny, knowing smile with her jaw just so. The one she used to give to Strife but now he was earning it more and more. He counted that as a positive.


	2. Ever Thought of Calling When You've Had a Few?

Tifa sighed harder than was probably really necessary at the arrival of a shock of red hair and bad posture, but it had already been one of those nights. Adding Reno in when there was already a strange mood about the bar customers tonight wasn’t going to go well.

The fact that he came in through the kitchen door as if he belonged there was just confusing.

“Heeeey,” he drawled, sidestepping around her to grab and pop the top on a beer, “How’s things?”

Okay, maybe the lengthy sigh wasn’t actually enough. “Reno, what are you doing?” Tifa shoved a stray hair behind her ear and looked at him with her hands on her hips and half her attention at the far corner of the bar. There was a fight about to break out, she just knew it. That group had felt tense since they arrived.

“Just grabbing a drink before I settle into my usual place,” he said, feigning defensiveness as he slid by her again and perched himself in Rude’s usual place, swiveling the stool to the side so that the group in the corner was at the very edge of his vision.

That’s what brought him in the back door. The bar was full and when he’d walked by ten minutes before, he’d noticed the knot of people at that front-most table, right by the windows. He knew that nest of vipers – noted for never going in to a place without robbing it blind and usually using a fight to wreck the place up as a cover. Damned if he was going to let that happen to Tifa.

Tit for tat, and all that junk.

Tifa rolled her eyes, grabbed a tray loaded with glasses before heading to another part of the bar to drop off drinks and collect empties. She was halfway back when the problem corner exploded.

Reno had seen it a half minute before it happened. The hand signal was unmistakable. He was already out of his seat--beer left behind--with his rod out, cracking skulls before the third guy even had a chance to get out of his own seat in an attempt to play at breaking it all up. And an extended leg was all it took to trip up the rat who was going to make for the register.

He let Tifa handle the rest of it, skulking his way back across the bar and peeling the label on his bottle while she threw the lot out and stalked back to him.

“You too, go,” she insisted with a jerk of her thumb over her shoulder.

“I broke that mess up before it got serious,” he defended.

“You did, did you?” She clearly did not believe him at all. “What do you want, then? A cookie?”

“I’d like another beer. You know it’s not safe to leave a bottle unattended.”

The look of frank amazement on her face was nice and he settled further into his spot as she gave up on him, throwing her hands into the air and walking off. “Get it yourself!”


	3. I Was Left To My Own Devices

Tifa was starting to get used to the presence of them both in and around her home. Granted, the first time she’d come home to find Rude with a floppy floral hat on his head and a feather boa around his neck, she’d been very taken aback by the scene. But Marlene assured her that he didn’t mind, that he was used to this, and that it was so much better than the tea parties with him at the old ShinRa building – they had proper teacups and saucers here, not ugly mugs and foam plates.

She hadn’t been sure whether to laugh or punch him for the reminder of holding the girl for ransom all those years ago. She’d opted to go change out the laundry and read instead.

But this one took the cake. Or the cupcake, it seemed.

She walked in the back door to find Reno and Marlene in a face off over one, solitary cupcake: white cake with strawberry frosting and chocolate sprinkles. Neither grown man nor small girl looked like they meant anything but business, both with their hands flat on the tabletop and eyes narrowed in shrewd appraisal.

“Hi, Tifa,” Marlene chirped happily without breaking eye contact.

“Welcome home,” was Reno’s addition to the conversation, also without looking away.

“What are you two are doing?” She probably did not want to know, but there was something in her that just couldn’t help but ask. She wondered if she should take a picture.

“He says he wants the whole cupcake and that I should give it up because I live here and I’ve already had some,” Marlene explained.

“And she says that I’ve got no right to cupcakes for the rest of my life cause I tricked her into thinking an eraser was a toffee last week.” Reno knew no remorse, only confectionary bliss and determination.

“You did what?” Tifa yelped. An eraser? He had her eat an _eraser_? Why didn’t she know about this? Had that been when she was with Barret? If so how was Reno still alive?

“She didn’t swallow it!” Her sudden increase in volume broke Reno’s concentration for a split second and he glanced up at her and that was all little Marlene needed.

She snatched the cupcake off the plate and dashed out of the kitchen, Reno moving like lightening to follow her. He was stopped short by Tifa’s fist balled into the back of his jacket and the swinging door coming back to whack him in the knee.

“Oh no you don’t! We don’t pull tricks like that in my house!”

“It wasn’t here! It was at the park!” Reno squirmed but it was useless. He was caught.

“I don’t care where it was,” Tifa was in full Mom Mode now as she pulled him around and marched him towards the sink. “It was wrong and you are going to wash every dish I hand you until midnight. Roll up your sleeves!”


	4. And You Know We're On Each Other's Team

 

Her eyes felt like they were going to shrivel up and fall out of her head. Her nose was on fire. Her throat? What was a throat? She didn’t remember a time when swallowing didn’t feel like scraping sandpaper against itself. And she was so very tired. So miserably tired.

When Reno came in the back door this time, he stopped in his tracks, eyes wide for an instant before they softened at the sight of Tifa in her warmest jammies and her robe, standing over the stove with a mug in her hand while the kettle heated.

Or didn’t because she had turned on the wrong burner and was just standing there waiting for something to happen that wouldn’t.

“Hey, here,” he put a gentle arm around her and led her to the table, settling her into a chair before returning to the stove and moving the kettle over. “What’s with the face?”

Tifa blinked slowly at him, her breath coming in weird little wheezes. “Ib sick,” she admitted with a sniff. No sense in denying it when her nose was the color of a tomato and her eyes were crusted over.

“I noticed. When did you eat last?”

Tifa made a face, sneezed into the balled up tissue in her hand, then answered, “No abbidide. Just tea.”

Reno frowned down at her and shook his head before turning to the cabinets to take stock of what was available. The kettle went off and he paused in his preparations to pour the steaming water into her mug and hand it over.

“Wadder you do-ink?” She sounded pitiful, even to her ears.

“Making soup. You can’t be sick and just not eat,” he insisted, sending a text to Rude to bring some chicken by a.s.a.p.

Either her sore throat or exhaustion kept her from protesting and either way that was alarming to him. Usually, she would be throwing him out on his ear or telling him to not burn the house down but no. She was just sitting there, staring vaguely into space and breathing through her mouth.

Sick, for sure.

Reno chopped veggies and heated stock, added in noodles and spices, lidded the pot and turned back to find that Tifa, in his silence, had put her head down on the table and fallen asleep. Reno shook his head and stared for a minute. As he pushed off the counter, Rude slipped in the back door.

“About time, yo,” Reno whispered, taking the rotisserie bird from his partner and nodding in the direction of the sleeping barkeep.  “I’m the speed in this team, you’re the muscle. Get her to bed?”

“You saying she’s heavy?” Rude mumbled, as he crossed the room.

“She kicked your jaw out of place years ago and she’s only gotten stronger. Not bigger, stronger.” Reno said over his shoulder, shredding chicken for the soup. It’d be like trying to pick up a denser version of Rude, he was sure.

Rude lifted Tifa gently, heading for the hallway and stairs and Reno smiled to himself at the big guy’s pink-tipped ears.


	5. Lately, I've Been, I've Been Losing Sleep

Denzel was out on a delivery with Cloud. Marlene was thrilled to have her daddy all to herself for a solid week. Tifa was about to her mind. Or her lunch. Either way, she wasn't sure which would come first but, fortunately, the movie ended.

“Well.” She sat back between Reno and Rude and planted a smile on her face. “You certainly have interesting tastes in movies, Rude.” She laughed stiffly, still not all that sure what she’d just watched but pretty sure that it being in black and white really helped cut back on the absolute gore factor. She reminded herself that it was probably maple syrup.  Maple syrup and cottage cheese.

“You don’t have to be nice to him, Teef,” Reno said, cramming a handful of popcorn into his mouth as the credits rolled. “He knows his movies suck.”

“It didn’t suck…,” Tifa began, determined to be positive in the face of glass bats and way too many rubber ducks for sense. “I thought it was very… Avant garde!” There! That wasn’t awful!

“See, I told you she’d get it,” Rude reached an arm around Tifa and gave Reno’s head a smack.

“Nobody but you actually gets this stuff. What?” The looks he was getting ranged from wooden faced smiling from Tifa to outright shock  from Rude. “It’s true!”

Rude opened his mouth to denounce Reno as a classless and offensive heathen but he was cut off when Tifa moved to stand up. “Let’s have something a little lighter this time, hm?”

Reno took note that her smile wasn’t as pasted on as she ran a finger down the stack of DVDs they’d brought over, picking one from the bottom. “I haven’t seen this in ages! I love Marie,” she said with a giggle.

“You can relate?” Rude asked, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“Only half-way, I’ll bet,” Reno interjected. “Our girl here starts fights _and_ finishes ‘em.”

“Hey!’ Tifa rejoined them on the couch, taking back the popcorn bowl and scowling at Reno. “I do not.”

“Used to,” Rude put in, a chuckle rumbling out of his chest.

“I can’t deny that.”

“Shh, you two. Chattering all the time. It’s starting.” Reno settled deeper into the couch cushions, his thigh against hers. On the other side, Rude sipped on his drink and didn’t move his arm from behind Tifa for the duration of the movie.


	6. Hold Still Right Before We Crash

Tifa giggled at the expression that played across Reno’s face when he walked into the bar on a boring Monday afternoon to find her sitting very straight and very still on a barstool in the middle of what looked like a plastic tablecloth. On that tablecloth was what could only be long tendrils of her hair.

But hair didn’t go on the floor.

And it sure wasn’t supposed to be on the floor when the scissors were in Rude’s hand.

“What the hell is goin’ on?” Reno was shocked to his core, no trace of anything even remotely smirk-like on his face.

Rude stood up straight, his sunglasses flipped backwards and upside down on the back of his head as he surveyed his work. “She wanted a haircut.”

Reno blinked between his partner and his. Well. Whatever they were. Partners worked, he guessed even though it wasn’t like with Rude. Whatever! Words and titles and crap didn’t matter because all her lovely dark hair was all over the floor. Now what was he supposed to play with when he was bored?

“Do you like it?” Tifa asked, smiling wide as she watched what Rude was doing in the long mirror behind the bar. “It’s been so miserably hot, I just got sick of dealing with it.”

Did he like it? NO, HE DID NOT. From just below her shoulders to right under her earlobes was missing and scattered all over the floor and Rude had done that. She’d let him do that. Yeah, okay, so it was hotter than Ifrit’s armpits out there and had been for months. And it was kinda cute, doing that thing where it curled under at her jaw. But still!

“You trusted that guy? Tch!” Reno huffed into a chair and crossed his arms while Tifa looked at him as if he’d just announced he was going to go eat nails with the circus.

“He doesn’t like change,” Rude explained. “And he’s still sore.”

“Still sore?” Tifa got that Reno and change were not good buddies. He got antsy and nervous when confronted with sudden change that he hadn’t expected and she’d been ready for a negative reaction from him. But this was new information.

“I cut his rat tail off.” Rude walked around her and took a little snip off here and there, perfecting the look she’d asked for.

“While I was asleep!” Reno burst out. Yeah, he was still sore about that. It’d taken years to get it that long.

Rude stood back to look again at a bit more of a distance before nodding his approval and holding out a hand to Tifa to steady her getting off the stool. She’d been there for the better part of an hour and must have at least one leg in pins and needles.

“Why did you do that?” she asked, incredulous.

“He’d kept it for fifteen years past the fashion. It was embarrassing.” Rude winked at her before he flipped his sunglasses back on his face, right way up.


	7. 'Cause We Got the Fire, And We're Burning One Hell Of A Something

When Cloud had bought the manor house in Costa del Sol, Tifa had thought he was insane. Or at least really, really unhinged. But now, she had to admit that it had been a good purchase, if only for the reason that they never ever had to try to find a hotel on a busy weekend.

Which is exactly what this one was, it seemed. Somme sort of music festival was going on and none of them had known it. Come to find out there were a lot of things that hadn’t been known before making this trip.

Like the fact that Reno and Rude knew their way around the house better than she or the kids or Barret or anybody did. When she cornered them and asked, the only explanation they had to give was that they had a friend who’d been on house arrest for years in this very house. Hence why it had come with such a steep price tag years ago. The friend had a reputation.

But, that didn’t matter all that much now, as she watched the kids playing in the waves on the beach, Rude and Barret taking turns tossing the youngsters into the deeper waters just beyond the break-line. Cloud took shelter under one of the beach umbrellas, no amount of sunscreen convincing him that he wouldn’t end up as pink as a lobster.

And she was slathering another coat of sunscreen on Reno’s back and arms to keep the same thing from happening to him. His cheeks were already freckling from the shopping excursion the day before and she didn’t bother to tell him that his shoulders had more than a few little dots on them as well.

“All done,” she announced, rubbing in the last of the sunscreen. “Race you to the water?”

Reno leaned back and hummed thoughtfully before giving her short hair a playful tug and taking off like a rocket. She didn’t stand a chance at beating him, but it didn’t really matter. They were all together and all happy. She’d never seen Rude smile this much in such a short time and Reno’s nervous energy seemed to have relaxed a lot. Barret and Cloud were comfortable enough with the arrangement too, at long last.

What more could a girl want?

Tifa almost missed the cryptic hand gestures between Rude and Reno as she waded deeper into the sea, water lapping around her thighs and little fishes scattering. But even with that small warning she had no time to react before they seized her, gave her a lift up into the air then tossed her, just like one of the children, into the water.

“Oh, you two!” She scolded, laughing when she surfaced, plucking her hat from the water and scooping water into it to fling at them both. “What am I going to do with you?”

What more could _anybody_ want?

**Author's Note:**

> Work and chapter titles are taken from the lyrics of your [playlist](https://8tracks.com/nolifeinabox/apricity-1). I hope you enjoy this!


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